How to fix the Mac question mark folder

Flashing question mark folder when Mac boots up? Don't worry, this usually means your Mac cannot find the boot disk or your macOS is not installed. Sometimes the folder will blink briefly and the Mac boots normally, but other times it stays there, causing you to not boot. This article provides several quick fixes.

Quick fix: Flashing question mark folder

The following table lists several repair methods and their brief descriptions. If you have a good understanding of technology, these instructions should be sufficient. If you need a more detailed guide, scroll down.

Question mark folder? Try this	Detailed description
Check boot disk settings	Go to System Settings > General > Boot Disk and make sure the correct disk is selected (usually Macintosh HD).
Reset NVRAM	Turn off the Mac, restart and hold Option Command PR , release after 20 seconds.
Diagnostics in recovery mode	Press and hold Command R Restart and enter recovery mode. Open Disk Utility , select disk and run First Aid .
Format the boot disk and reinstall macOS	In recovery mode, open Disk Utility , erase the disk, and select Reinstall macOS .
Attached: Recover lost data	If you lose some files, install Disk Drill as soon as possible, scan the recoverable files and recover them.

Some operations on your Mac may cause data loss. To prevent this from happening, select Get Backup Pro for backup. Available on Setapp.

6 Ways to Fix Mac Question Mark Folders

Now, let's explain it in more detail.

Method 1: Check the startup system settings

Go to system settings via the Apple menu to make sure your Mac uses the correct boot disk. Click General > Boot Disk and you will see the disks available for booting.

Make sure the correct disk is selected (usually Macintosh HD), if any changes are required, select the correct disk and click Reboot.

Important: If you don't know which disk to choose, it's best to consult a professional, as certain options (e.g., choosing to mount volumes instead of boot volumes) can cause the system to reinstall and erase your data.

Method 2: Reset NVRAM

NVRAM is a memory that retains data without power supply. This includes basic startup information, so if the question mark folder appears briefly and then the Mac continues to boot, resetting it can help resolve the issue.

To reset NVRAM, simply click on the Apple menu and select Shutdown to turn off the MacBook. Then restart your Mac and press Option Command PR . Release the button after about 20 seconds.

Important tip: Are the above steps invalid? Please note that depending on the severity of the problem, some of the following solutions can be used to solve the problem, or you need professional help. Remember that you may lose data on your Mac during this process, so if you don't have a backup and do need these files, send your laptop for repair.

Lost important data?

Get Disk Drill to recover lost data. Available on Setapp.

Method 3: Diagnose in recovery mode

If your screen stays on the question mark folder, try using the built-in Mac application Disk Utility to diagnose and fix the issue. To do this, you need to load your laptop in recovery mode and run the application. The operation method is as follows:

1. Press and hold the power button until the device shuts down.
2. Restart your Mac and hold it Command R . This should take you to Mac recovery mode.
3. Select Disk Utility in the pop-up window on the screen.
4. In the app, click First Aid.

In the window that appears, select your boot disk and run First Aid to see if the application can find and repair any damage.

If Disk Utility fails to fix the error that caused the boot disk error, there are some other steps you can take. You can try formatting the boot disk, reinstalling macOS, or using Time Machine to restore to disk backup versions - be careful, as formatting the disk and reinstalling the operating system will cause data loss (your disk will be erased), while using Time Machine will restore your Mac to a previously recorded image, which also means you will lose data on your Mac.

If your boot disk does not appear in Disk Utility at all, you will need to send it for repair.

Method 4: Format the boot disk and reinstall macOS

If Disk Utility doesn't solve the disk problem, you may need to format it and install macOS from scratch.

This process will erase all data on the disk, so if you need to recover data and there is no backup, send your Mac for repair.

To start formatting, load your Mac in recovery mode and follow the instructions in the previous section to open Disk Utility.

1. Select Macintosh HD and click Erase.
2. In the pop-up window, you will see an option to change the disk name and format.
3. Press Erase Volume Group (or Erase) to confirm the operation. This will delete all data on the hard drive.

Now, to use this disk as the boot disk for your Mac, you need to reinstall macOS on it.

To do this, open the Utilities window in recovery mode and select Reinstall macOS Sonoma (by default, the operating system is set to the operating system you installed previously). Do not close the lid of your Mac or hibernate it during installation.

Method 5: Use Disk Drill to recover files

After you are forced to erase the boot disk, you may need to recover some files. I recommend Disk Drill. It is an excellent file recovery application that you can use to recover lost files and data. Run the application to find and recover files.

Since your files are not actually deleted, just the path to them is erased, applications like Disk Drill can recover files as long as there is no new information recorded on your disk. This means that the faster you run the application after factory reset or erase the disk, the greater the chance of recovering files.

Method 6: Backup your data

As you can see, unexpected errors can lead to data loss, which is difficult to recover and sometimes even impossible to recover at all. This means that regular backup of important data is essential to your daily digital life.

To back up your data, you can store important files in cloud storage or back up your Mac to an external storage device using the built-in Time Machine app.

To use Time Machine, go to the Apple menu > System Settings > General > Time Machine.

In the application, select your external storage disk.

How much disk space do you need to backup? Usually 2-3 times the storage capacity of Mac. For example, my Mac has 245GB of storage, and even if I don't use all the space, I should have at least 500GB of space for backup. For safety reasons, I use a 1TB drive.

If you want to reduce the size of your Time Machine image, use CleanMyMac (a Mac maintenance application) to clean up unnecessary files.

CleanMyMac will optimize your Mac by cleaning up caches and unnecessary files, find old large files for you to view, delete local copies of email attachments, and even streamline your Time Machine snapshots.

My Experience: I don't like Time Machine. Its backup is usually too large, and it is not very convenient to back up individual files. I've been using Get Backup Pro for the past few years – it's archives can be reduced by up to 60% and offers a variety of backup tools including simple copy, cloning, incremental backups and versions.

One thing I also like is that I can back up and restore my data to any Mac, not just my Mac, even if it doesn't have Get Backup Pro installed.

Get Backup Pro allows you to carefully select files to back up, compress backups, sync folders, and even schedule backups.

Quick review: How to fix Mac question mark folder

Now you know that a question mark folder appears on your Mac screen means that your computer cannot find a bootable disk. Sometimes this is a small error that can be easily fixed by resetting NVRAM or first aid from the disk, and other times the problem requires formatting the disk and reinstalling macOS.

Erase the boot disk and reinstall macOS will cause data loss on the computer. Use Disk Drill to recover some lost files and data. To prevent future data loss, select the backup options that best suit you - cloud storage, Time Machine, Get Backup Pro, and more - and create copies of important files and documents, as well as system settings.

You can get the CleanMyMac, Disk Drill, and Get Backup Pro mentioned in this article through a Setapp subscription, so if you already have a Setapp subscription, try these apps. If not, join now and sign up for a free trial.

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